9-4 , 6-2
Liberty
8-4 , 5-3
Bulls Defeat Liberty to win Bahamas Bowl
1/4/2025 4:59:00 PM | Football
Linebacker Red Murdock led a UB defense that forced three Liberty turnovers and held the Flames to just a fourth-quarter touchdown. Murdock finished with a game-high 13 tackles, two forced fumbles and a pick six in the game and was named the Defensive Player of the Game.
Fellow linebacker Shaun Dolac, playing in his final game as a Bull, had nine tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. He finished the season with a school-record 168 tackles.
Kicker Upton Bellenfant got the Bulls on the board early with three straight field goals to open the scoring. His first was a career-long and Bahamas Bowl-record 52-yarder on UB's opening possession. He followed with a 43-yard field goal and then a 20-yard field goal, on the first play of the second quarter, to give the Bulls a 9-0 lead. Bellenfant added a fourth field goal in the fourth quarter to set a Bahamas Bowl record.
Al-Jay Henderson broke loose for a 45-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter to put UB ahead, 16-0. Henderson, who was named the Offensive Player of the Game, finished with 119 yards rushing to put his season total over 1,000 yards. He became the 11th different player in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
Murdock iced the game with a pick-six early in the fourth quarter. He returned his first career interception for a 31-yard touchdown.
It was Buffalo's fourth straight bowl win and second Bahamas Bowl victory. The Bulls also won the 2019 Bahamas Bowl.
UB finished the year with a record of 9-4. It marked just the third time in program history the Bulls won nine games in a season. The Bulls ended the season on a five-game winning streak for the first time since 1959.
Notes
- Buffalo's Red Murdock set a Bahamas Bowl record with 2 forced fumbles. His 31-yard pick-6 in the fourth quarter was the first interception returned for a score in Bahamas Bowl history.
- His 13 total tackles is the second-most in Bahamas Bowl history.
- Buffalo's Upton Bellenfant set four Bahamas Bowl kicking records on the day.
- His first was with a 52-yard field goal just 4:30 into the game, breaking the record 47-yard field goal by Andrew Haldeman of Western Michigan in 2015.
- Bellenfant also set a Bahamas Bowl record with four made field goals (52, 43, 20, 45). His first three made kicks all came in the first 15:04 of the contest to break the previous record.
- His 30-yard fourth quarter FG attempt missed, but it gives him a bowl record fifth attempt of the day.
- Bellenfant also set a Bahamas Bowl record with 14 kicking points (4 FG, 2 PAT).
- Ethan Duane hit a Bahamas Bowl record 68-yard punt in the first quarter - 14 yards further than the previous punt of 54 yards set on three separate occasions.
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Team Stats
BUF 3, LIB 0
BUF - Bellenfant,Upton 52 yd field goal 7 plays, 29 yards, TOP 03:00
BUF 6, LIB 0
BUF - Bellenfant,Upton 43 yd field goal 7 plays, 42 yards, TOP 03:24
BUF 9, LIB 0
BUF - Bellenfant,Upton 20 yd field goal 8 plays, 55 yards, TOP 01:46
BUF 16, LIB 0
BUF - Henderson,Al-Jay 45 yd run (Bellenfant,Upton kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:59
BUF 19, LIB 0
BUF - Bellenfant,Upton 45 yd field goal 4 plays, 7 yards, TOP 01:26
BUF 26, LIB 0
BUF - Murdock,Red 31 yd interception (Bellenfant,Upton kick)
BUF 26, LIB 7
LIB - Smith,Reese 36 yd pass from Hampton,Nate (Karhu,Colin kick) 14 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:09
